Isaiah 29:11-14

‘The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I cannot for it is sealed.”
Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I am not literate.”
Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honour Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Therefore…’ (Isaiah 29:11-14)

These are strong, strong words. Isaiah is specifically talking about the ‘prophets’ and ‘seers’ here (verse 10). They were supposed to listen to ‘god’ or nature to predict future events and ascertain wisdom. However, from this passage it is very clear that in fact they were missing wisdom altogether. The picture of the sealed book is meant to suggest that there are two types of people that cannot see God’s wisdom. There are people (I think probably specifically the prophets) that know how to understand or know God’s wisdom and truth but from whom it was sealed, ie they weren’t really listening to God, weren’t in the spirit, they were thinking in ‘human logic’. Then there were the people who thought in a completely different way, and so could not comprehend in the slightest God’s truth (I think probably referring to the seers).

God, however, places both of them in the same category for the second part of the passage. ‘Inasmuch as these people…’ (verse 13). He says that what they say, or even how they may act, is ‘honourable’ to God, but God knows that their heart is not in it! Although they say all the right things, or at least a semblance of the right things, they don’t really passionately believe it. They don’t want it. That is why they couldn’t ‘read the book’ as it were. We don’t find God’s truth so much as He reveals it to us when He sees that our hearts are in the right place and our lives honour Him.

Furthermore, it says that their fear toward God is taught by the commandment of men. So basically, they way they act and speak all righteous and stuff doesn’t come from a heart toward God but is just basically following orders from other people! Of course, today, this can happen many ways. It could be enforced, it could be a peer pressure thing, it could be just a natural copy of your parents. But any of those ways amounts to having a fear toward God that is not from the heart, but from the ‘commandment’ of men.

Therefore, let us examine ourselves before God today to see whether our heart is truly for Him. Is it our sole desire? Is it what we live for? For if we are but honouring Him with our lips, then we are fooling ourselves. And God says,

‘Therefore…the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.’ (Isaiah 29:14)

God will hide His truths from us if we are fooling ourselves and doing things our own way.